Brewed Dec 14, bottled Jan 16. First taste Feb. 4. OG1.068, FG1.016, 40IBU, 62SRM.
Used chocolate in the boil as the recipe states, but no coffee in the boil. 2oz dry nibs in the last 7 days of bulk aging in primary and bottled with 16oz cold-steeped coffee (med. roast, 1.5oz of beans finely ground steeped 24hours in refrigerator). Primed to 2.0Vol.
Notes: Black as sin, pours thick and creamy. No head, with low carbonation (as intended, because I plan to actually drink this at breakfast). Chocolatey, roasty nose with a bit of coffee in there. Flavor is a bit tart, and a little too much dark chocolate, with no hint of hops or esters. It's at this point I get suspicious and review my notes to find that I used S-05 instead of S-04. Big mistake. After further review I find that my water was off too (too soft), and that is probably why I can't smell or taste any hint of hop presence. I miss the esters and the slight tartness from the S-05 is out of place in this beer. Too bad. Also, I think 2oz of nibs was too much, and I would to only 1oz in the future to provide better balance with the other aromas.
Overall, I will drink this, but it could be better. The problems were with execution, and not with any part of the recipe so far as I can tell. I'll try it again in the autumn.